


Under the Doorway

by QuarkInShiningArmour



Series: Gammahammer one shots [3]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Incredible Hulk (2008), Thor (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Neighbors, Fluff, M/M, Mutual Pining
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-26
Updated: 2018-10-26
Packaged: 2019-08-08 03:00:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,338
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16421111
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/QuarkInShiningArmour/pseuds/QuarkInShiningArmour
Summary: Thor has a thing for his next-door neighbour, but he worries that he may have created a bad first impression.





	Under the Doorway

**Author's Note:**

  * Translation into Español available: [Under the Doorway (traducción)](https://archiveofourown.org/works/16719942) by [Winchesterxk](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Winchesterxk/pseuds/Winchesterxk)



> Wrote this for a prompt on Tumblr, thanks anon!!  
> I'm at @goddessofgamma if ya want to send me prompts and stuff.  
> Hope you like it!

Thor smiled to himself as he heard the soft sound of the piano filtering in through the wall that separated Bruce’s house from his.  He couldn’t say that it would have usually been his sort of music, but anything that reminded him of Bruce made his heart feel a little lighter.

 

As first meetings go, theirs had not been the smoothest.  Thor had moved in just a day before, and after a long day of setting up all the electricals around the house, he’d ventured into the kitchen to cook himself some dinner, making use of his dubious-looking oven for the first time.  He’d been in a good mood, listening to _Take on Me_ on his phone as he flipped his steaks. 

His mood was soon interrupted by a thundering knock at the door.  Stopping his music, he’d run downstairs to see who was calling.  A very angry-looking, soggy man was standing outside his door in the pouring rain.  There was something about the way that his face crinkled-up with anger that Thor almost found endearing, at least until the man had nearly yelled at him to stop blasting his music so loud that he couldn’t do his work.  Thor had to pause for thought at that.  He’d not realised that his music had been playing through the speakers he’d set up earlier, he’d had his headphones on thinking that was the source of the sound.  It was an honest mistake, Thor tried to explain, but the man’s fury didn’t seem to diminish. 

Thor thought a lot about that interaction in the weeks that followed.  He wanted to apologize, went so far as to bake some lemon cakes for his neighbour, but every time he rang the doorbell to give the cupcakes and say sorry, he was met with no response.

After four attempts at varying times of day, Thor came up with a fool-proof plan.  If he played music _again_ really loudly, the neighbour would surely knock again, and then he could apologize for both occasions in one go. 

 _Dancing Queen_ was blaring from every speaker he owned.  Making the most of the opportunity, Thor danced by the door, cupcakes at the ready, listening out for an angry tap.

As soon as he heard a knocking, Thor pressed pause on the music and opened the door wide.

“For the love of god, can you stop it with the music? I’ve already told you I’ve got work to do, I can’t deal with Abba at 600 decibels while I’m mar-“  The neighbour trailed off when he noticed Thor’s wide smile.  “What is it?”  The man asked, his tone still disgruntled.

“I made you some cakes.”  Thor presented them, his right hand holding out the display.  “I apologize for my method of asking you to collect them, but you didn’t answer when I knocked.” 

“You –“ The man still looked annoyed, but more puzzled than anything else. “You baked me cakes?”

Thor nodded.

“Lemon drizzle.  As a peace offering.”

The neighbour looked suspicious, but took them anyway.

“Thanks,” he said hesitantly.  He backed away from Thor’s doorstep, heading down the small path, back to his house.  Stopping just short of the gate, he turned around.  “My name’s Bruce, by the way.  Bruce Banner.”

“I’m Thor!” Thor shouted back, wanting to be sure that Bruce heard from the other end of the garden.

The name ‘Bruce Banner’ had stuck in Thor’s head for a week afterward, repeated like a melody in Thor’s head just as catchy as any Abba song.

 

A week after that, Thor had been shocked by the sound of some unfamiliar music coming from the wall he shared with Bruce.  It was loud, louder than Thor had ever thought Bruce would play music, considering how he’d complained.

After an hour, the thought had wormed its way into Thor’s head that this was some kind of response to his own music.  Taking a chance, he walked up to Bruce’s door and rang the doorbell.

Bruce opened the door so fast that it was clear he’d been waiting.  There was a slight smile on his face, something Thor had never seen before, and he couldn’t help feeling that he’d like to see that smile again.  It was the first time Bruce had stayed still long enough for Thor to get a good look at him, and he found his eyes tracing his curls, his face.  

“I-“  Bruce hesitated.  “I thought it was my turn to say sorry. For snapping at you.  Sometimes when I get wound up, I lash out, but…”  His eyes flashed down to their feet. “I’m sorry.”

Thor gave him the most reassuring grin he had.

“You have no need to apologize, Banner.  You have an interesting music taste.”

“It’s a band called Mountain Goats.”

Bruce looked at him deeply for a moment, before standing more upright, as though he’d just remembered something.

“Oh, I made you cookies.”  He turned around and fetched some gooey-looking chocolate chip cookies. Thor beamed, surprised and delighted.

“I will treasure them.”

Bruce did a half-laugh.

“I think the idea is that you should eat them.”

It had been a year since Thor had moved in now.  Thor and Bruce had created a habit, in the weeks following Bruce’s cookies, of playing their music at top volume when they wanted the other person to come over and visit, to chat and get to know each other a little more.  Thor soon learned that Bruce was a science teacher, he had a cat, he used to play the piano, but he hadn’t practiced in years, all sorts of tiny pieces of information that made Thor like him all the more. 

Thor had been the one to convince him to try piano again.  He’d seen the delivery van arrive outside after Bruce had bought one.  Bruce had pushed it into his house, and Thor couldn’t deny the way he stared at Bruce’s arms as they strained with the effort of bearing the weight.

Now, hearing the sound of Bruce playing, just the other side of the wall, Thor was hit by a swell of affection for Bruce.  He’d long accepted his attraction to his neighbour who he hoped that he could count as a friend, but with each of their meetings, he felt his feelings grow to more than just a regular crush.

Forcing himself to act rather than wallow, Thor turned his speakers on.  He scrolled down his playlist until he found the song he needed to hype himself up.

Stepping down the stairs, in time to the beat of _Take a Chance on Me_ , Thor waited in anticipation, trying to convince himself to admit his feeling.

The rap at the door came so fast Thor could have sworn Bruce would have had to run.

“Hi, Thor.  Abba, again.”  He gave a small smile.  “I’ve gotta say, it’s growing on me.”

Thor nodded.

“I was sorry to interrupt your music, but, well, I wanted to speak with you.”  It was funny for Thor to hear himself say that; they’d never verbally acknowledged that their music was just an excuse to see each other since the first couple of times.  “I –“ Thor took a moment’s pause, steadying himself and looking Bruce in the eyes. “I would like - if you would, of course – to spend some time with you not just on our doorsteps.  To actually go into one of our houses, or go out for dinner.  As a date.”

Bruce froze for a moment, and Thor was worried he’d misspoken. A moment later, all Thor felt was the press of Bruce’s lips on his, Bruce’s hand wrapped about his head, pulling him down in a kiss.

Thor didn’t have to think before he leant down into it, holding Bruce close, the contact heated after so long spent so close together.  His tongue flickered across Bruce’s lips. 

That seemed to spark something in Bruce, spurring him on to push Thor against the wall of his hallway, the door slamming behind them, leaving the doorway behind.

 

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading, lovely people!  
> I adore comments, they motivate me like nothing else :)  
> have a great day!  
> typing in 'neighbor' as a tag was painful for my uk soul, I'm sorry, I should get over myself, american spelling is more logical.


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